West bank settlement

Home-renting company Airbnb Inc has said it will remove listings in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, a move Israel called a “wretched capitulation” to boycotters and Palestinians hailed as a step towards peace. The decision, affecting some 200 listings, would take effect in the coming days, Airbnb said. Israel captured the West Bank in a 1967 war. Its settlements there are considered illegal by most world powers. Palestinians deem the settlements, and the military presence needed to protect them, to be obstacles to their goal of establishing a state. Israel disputes this. “We concluded that we should remove listings in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank that are at the core of the dispute between Israelis and Palestinians,” Airbnb said on its website. “Our hope is that someday sooner rather than later, a framework is put in place where the entire global community is aligned so there will be a resolution to this historic conflict … [Read more...] about Airbnb to remove listings in Israel’s West Bank settlements

Home-renting company Airbnb Inc said on Monday that it would remove listings in Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, enclaves that most world powers consider illegal for taking up land where Palestinians seek statehood. "We concluded that we should remove listings in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank that are at the core of the dispute between Israelis and Palestinians," a statement on the Airbnb website said. "Our hope is that someday sooner rather than later, a framework is put in place where the entire global community is aligned so there will be a resolution to this historic conflict and a clear path forward for everybody to follow." An Airbnb spokesman said the decision, affecting some 200 listings, would take effect in the days ahead. There was no immediate response from the government of Israel, which captured the West Bank in the 1967 Middle East war, nor from Palestinian authorities. Some 500,000 Israelis live in the West Bank … [Read more...] about Airbnb removes listings in West Bank settlements

Israeli nationalists are celebrating what they call a "precedent-setting" court ruling that would legalize an isolated West Bank settlement outpost. Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked of the pro-settler Jewish Home party said Wednesday the Jerusalem District Court's decision to legalize Mitzpe Kramim was an "important achievement" for the settler movement. The court ruled late Tuesday that settlers have acted in "good faith" and were unaware they were building on privately owned Palestinian property. The ruling will likely face an appeal to Israel's Supreme Court, which has previously ordered such outposts be forcibly evacuated. Shaked said the ruling proved evacuations are unnecessary and hoped they won't be repeated. Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 war. Most of the international community considers settlements there to be either illegal or illegitimate. … [Read more...] about Israeli nationalists celebrate court’s legalizing of new West Bank settlement

Israel’s government has advanced plans to build over 1,000 new homes in West Bank settlements, an Israeli watchdog group has said. According to Peace Now, nearly 400 homes received final approval from defense officials for construction to begin, while the rest require further bureaucratic approvals. Israel’s Civil Administration, the defense body that approves such construction, did not immediately comment on the report, AP said. Some 600,000 Israelis live in settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem – territories captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war and claimed by the Palestinians for a future state. Israel says the fate of the settlements must be resolved in peace negotiations with the Palestinians. … [Read more...] about Israeli defense officials approve plans for 1,000 West Bank settlement homes – watchdog

One person has been killed and two injured in the latest stabbing attack, this time carried out by a 17-year-old Palestinian, who entered an Israeli settlement in the West Bank for his attack and who was killed during the act. The attack by the young Palestinian, who was later identified as Muhammad Tareq Yusuf, happened on Thursday around 9:00 pm local time. He climbed over the perimeter fence in the West Bank settlement of Adam, located between Jerusalem and Ramallah, and stabbed three people before being gunned down, local media reported. Magen David Adom, 31, who was critically injured in the altercation, later succumbed to his wounds at the Jerusalem Hadassah Medical Center. Another victim, a 58-year-old man, remains in serious condition. The third man, who shot the attacker, suffered light injuries and was treated at the Shaare Zedek Medical Center. Just an hour prior to his attack, the teenager wrote a Facebook post announcing that “time has come for a great … [Read more...] about 17yo Palestinian kills 1, injures 2 Israelis in knife attack in West Bank settlement